30° and Mist
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Here’s a 60-second animation instead of my usual 30-second clip, so you can better see the number of changes that happen from concept to finished cartoon.
The only change I did not want to make was taking Trump from a big butt diaper-clad toddler to a big butt blue Bermuda-suited toddler, but my editor prefers that I cover up the president. No surprise to me, though, because following the death of Trumper Hulk Hogan in 2024, I presented this rough idea to my editor:
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I was urged to cover his biglyness’s biomass, which led to this:
Take a moment to bleach your eyes before we get into the seriousness of a shaky North Atlantic Treaty Organization and why you should give a damn.
A brief history
Established in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a political and military alliance originally formed by 12 Western nations to counter the threat of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. At its core is Article 5, the principle of collective defense, which dictates that an attack against one member is considered an attack against all. There are 32 member countries today. The alliance consists of 30 European nations and 2 North American nations (Canada and the United States). Sweden is the most recent member, joining on March 7, 2024
Trump’s “pay-to-play” style of leadership messes with stability
Treating NATO protection as a business deal rather than a binding security pledge reduces the alliance’s cohesion, turning a collective defense commitment into a transactional arrangement. Instead of promising to defend every ally no matter what, he suggests the U.S. might only help countries that spend enough money on their militaries or give the U.S. better trade deals. This creates uncertainty and tension, especially during arguments like the Greenland crisis, where military support was used as a bargaining chip. Because other countries no longer fully trust the U.S. to show up in a crisis, they are starting to build their own separate defenses, which breaks the unified front that has kept the peace for over 75 years.
It’s not just my opinion. I say “Hell, yeah!” for Hellyer
Equivocation from Washington weakens deterrence, emboldens Moscow, and risks persuading soldiers on the ground that NATO no longer carries the saliency or seriousness it once did,” said H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank in London.
Source: RUSI
Let’s make a deal
As mentioned above, to Trump, political relationships are transactional, zero-sum games. There must be a winner and a loser. Transactional analysis (TA) became a household term following the 1967 self-help classic “I'm OK – You're OK” by Thomas Harris. I have no expertise in the psychoanalytic arts and barely remember the book, but I thought I could pull something relevant from the contents through Google’s AI overview.
Key concepts from the book
Harris explains the PAC Model (Personality Components) that our personalities consist of three ego states that influence daily life:
- Parent: Behaviors, thoughts, and feelings copied from parents or parental figures (judgmental, nurturing, or controlling).
- Child: Behaviors, thoughts, and feelings replayed from childhood (emotions, creativity, fear, or rebellion).
- Adult: The rational, objective, and current, data-processing part of the personality that evaluates life in the present moment.
The author also describes the four life positions. One of them is clearly Donald Trump. Can you guess?
- I’m Not OK, You’re OK: The most common position, where a child feels inferior to adults.
- I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK: A hopeless position often stemming from severely abusive or neglectful backgrounds.
3. I’m OK, You’re Not OK: A defensive, often paranoid position
- I’m OK, You’re OK: The only position that is a conscious, rational choice for a healthy life. It involves self-acceptance and respect for others.
NUMBER THREE! HE’S NUMBER THREE! (Well, D-UH)
There is no ethos. There is only the serving of oneself. Donald Trump’s approach is defined by a fundamentally transactional, "America First" worldview, focusing on short-term gains, direct negotiation, and zero-sum outcomes rather than traditional alliances or shared values. This style mirrors a business negotiation, often using economic pressure and national interest to secure immediate results, frequently disregarding established diplomatic protocols.
I have little concern over Trump’s upbringing or his relationship with Daddy Fred. All of us have baggage to varying degrees, but none of us has the power to spread toxicity like the president of the USA. Nor do we have overwhelming leviathanesque power at our fingertips, a.k.a. the American military.
Telling it like it
I don’t have a propensity for freewheeling cuss-filled posts, even though I’d like to, as a way to exorcise my rage. Fortunately, there are writers through whom I vicariously express myself. I’ll wrap up today’s Buffatorial installment with a link to a dandy F-bomb-laced post that makes points I fully support:
Alright mates, buckle the fuck up because this is absolutely fucking beautiful.
